Download Scope Management

Project Scope Management
Mohammad A. Rob
Importance of Good Project Scope
Management
 Studies found that user involvement, a clear
project mission, a clear statement of
requirements, and proper planning as being
important for project success
 Improper project definition and scope is the
main reasons projects fail
What is Project Scope Management?
 Scope refers to all the work involved in creating the
products of the project and the processes used to
create them
 Project scope management includes the processes
involved in defining and controlling what is or is not
included in the project
 The project team and stakeholders must have the
same understanding of what products will be produced
as a result of a project and what processes will be
used in producing them
What is Project Scope Management?
 The term scope may refer to:
– Product scope: The features and functions that
characterize a product or service
– Project scope: The work that must be done to
deliver a product with the specified features and
functions
– A project generally results in a single product, but
that product may include subsidiary components,
with each having its own scope
– Completion of the project scope is measured
against the project plan, but completion of the
product scope is measured against product
requirements
Project Scope Management Processes
 There are five processes:
– Initiation: beginning a project or continuing to the
next phase
– Scope planning: developing a written scope
statement as the basis for future project decisions
– Scope definition: subdividing the major project
deliverables into smaller, more manageable
components
– Scope verification: formalizing acceptance of the
project scope
– Scope change control: controlling changes to
project scope
Project Scope Management Processes
Project Scope Management Processes
Project Initiation Process
 Initiation is the process of formally authorizing a new
project or continuing an existing project to its next
phase.
 Typically a project is not initiated until a need
assessment or feasibility study of the project is
completed.
 The input to the project initiation is a product
description which documents the characteristics of
the product or service that the project was undertaken
 The output is a project charter which is a document
that formally authorizes a project.
Project Initiation:
Identifying Potential Projects
 Many organizations follow a planning process for
selecting IT projects
– First develop an IT strategic plan based on the organization’s
overall strategic plan that addresses organizational strengths
and weaknesses, business opportunities and threats, future
trends, projecting needs for new product or services
– Then perform a business area analysis that identifies business
processes that are central to achieving strategic goals
– Then define potential projects, their scope, benefits, and
constraints
– Then select the IT project and assign resources
Project Initiation:
Identifying Potential Projects: Weighted Scoring Model
 A weighted scoring model is a tool that provides a
systematic process for selecting projects based on many
criteria
– First identify criteria important to the project selection process
– Then assign weights (percentages) to each criterion so they add
up to 100%
– Then assign scores to each criterion for each project
– Multiply the scores by the weights and get the total weighted
scores
 The higher the weighted score, the better
Project Initiation:
Sample Weighted Scoring Model for Project Selection
Project Initiation: Project Charter
 A project charter is a key output of the project initiation
process
 A project charter is a document that formally
recognizes the existence of a project and provides
direction on the project’s objectives and management
 It should include:
– The business need that the project to be undertaken
– The product description
 Key project stakeholders should sign a project charter
to acknowledge agreement on the need and intent of
the project
Project Initiation: Project Charter
 Key parts of the project charter are:
– Projects title and date of authorization
– The project manager’s name and contact information
– A brief scope statement for the project
– A summary of the planned approaches to project
planning
– A roles and responsibilities matrix
– A sign-off section for signatures of key project
stakeholders
– A comments section in which stakeholders can
provide important comments related to the project
Project Initiation: Sample Project Charter
 Project Title: Information Technology (IT) Upgrade Project
 Project Start Date: March 4, 1999 Projected Finish Date:
December 4, 1999
 Project Manager: Kim Nguyen, 691-2784, [email protected]
 Project Objectives: Upgrade hardware and software for all
employees (approximately 2,000) within 9 months based on new
corporate standards. See attached sheet describing the new
standards. Upgrades may affect servers and midrange computers
as well as network hardware and software. Budgeted $1,000,000
for hardware and software costs and $500,000 for labor costs.
 Approach:
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Update the IT inventory database to determine upgrade needs
Develop detailed cost estimate for project and report to CIO
Issue a request for quotes to obtain hardware and software
Use internal staff as much as possible to do the planning, analysis, and
installation
Project Initiation:
Sample Project Charter (contd.)
Roles and Responsibilities
Project Scope Planning Process
 Scope planning is the process of progressively
elaborating and documenting the project work (scope)
that produces the product of the project.
 The main inputs to this process are product description
and project charter
 The main output is the project scope statement,
which forms the basis for an agreement between the
project and the project customer by identifying both the
project objectives and the project deliverables
Project Scope Planning: Scope Statement
 A scope statement provides a documented basis for making
future decisions and for confirming or developing common
understanding of the project scope among stakeholders.
 It should include
– Project justification: the business need of the project
– Project’s product: a brief summary of the product description
– Project deliverables: A list of major project deliverables or
summary-level sub-products
– Project objectives: a statement of what determines project
success quantified in terms of cost, schedule, and quality
Project Scope Definition Process
 Scope definition involves subdividing the major project
deliverables into smaller, more manageable
components
 Good project definition can
– help improve the accuracy of cost, duration, and resource
estimates
– define a baseline for performance measurement and control
– aids in clear responsibility assignments
 Poor project definition leads to a higher cost due to
changes in project rhythm, increased time, lower
productivity, and poor worker morale
Project Scope Definition
 The main input to the scope definition process
is the scope statement.
 The main output to the scope definition is the
work breakdown structure (WBS), an
outcome-oriented grouping of project
components that organizes and defines the
total scope of the project
 The work that is not in the WBS is outside of
the scope of the project
Project Scope Definition:
The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
 A WBS is a foundation document in project
management because it provides the basis for planning
and managing project schedules, costs, and changes
 It is often depicted as a task-oriented family tree of
activities. Each descending level represents an
increasingly detailed description of the project
deliverables
 It is usually organized around project products or by
phases
 It can either be developed as an organizational chart
or in a tabular form, which can help people visualize
the whole project and all of its main parts
Project Scope Definition:
Sample Intranet WBS Organized by Product
Project Scope Definition:
Sample Intranet WBS Organized by Phase
Project Scope Definition:
Intranet WBS in Tabular Form
1.0 Concept
1.1 Evaluate current systems
1.2 Define Requirements
1.2.1 Define user requirements
1.2.2 Define content requirements
1.2.3 Define system requirements
1.2.4 Define server owner requirements
1.3 Define specific functionality
1.4 Define risks and risk management approach
1.5 Develop project plan
1.6 Brief web development team
2.0 Web Site Design
3.0 Web Site Development
4.0 Roll Out
5.0 Support
Project Scope Definition: Intranet WBS and
Gantt Chart in Microsoft Project
Project Scope Definition: Approaches to
Developing WBSs
 Using guidelines: Some organizations, like the U.S.
Department of Defense, provide guidelines for preparing
WBSs, which includes cost estimates for each task in
the summary and detailed level. Contractor’s follow this
guideline.
 The analogy approach: It often helps to review WBSs of
similar projects performed before.
 The top-down approach: Start with the largest items of
the project and keep breaking them down
 The bottoms-up approach: Start with the detailed tasks
and roll them up
Basic Principles for Creating WBSs
1. A unit of work should appear at only one place in the WBS.
2. The work content of a WBS item is the sum of the WBS items
below it.
3. A WBS item is the responsibility of only one individual, even though
many people may be working on it.
4. The WBS must be consistent with the way in which work is actually
going to be performed; it should serve the project team first and
other purposes only if practical.
5. Project team members should be involved in developing the WBS
to ensure consistency and buy-in.
6. Each WBS item must be documented to ensure accurate
understanding of the scope of work included and not included in
that item.
7. The WBS must be a flexible tool to accommodate inevitable
changes while properly maintaining control of the work content in
the project according to the scope statement.
Scope Verification and Scope Change Control
Processes
 It is very difficult to create a good scope statement and
WBS for a project
 It is even more difficult to verify project scope and
minimize scope changes
 Many IT projects suffer from scope creep - the
tendency for project scope to keep getting bigger and
bigger
 Many IT projects fail due to scope problems and creep
 Thus it is very important to verify the project scope and
develop a process for controlling scope changes
Scope Verification Process
 Scope verification involves formal acceptance of the
project scope by the stakeholders. It requires reviewing
deliverables and work results to ensure that all were
completed correctly and satisfactorily
 Input: stakeholders review documents that are created
earlier, which include work results (deliverables),
product specification (from SDLC), work breakdown
structure, and project plan.
 The output is formal acceptance
Scope Change Control Processes
 Scope change control is concerned with
– influencing the factors that create scope changes to ensure that
changes are agreed upon
– determining that a scope change has occurred
– managing the actual change when and if they occur
 The main inputs to the scope change control are WBS,
and change requests
 The output is scope changes, which is any modification
to the agreed-upon project scope as defined by the
approved WBS
 Scope changes often require adjustment of cost, time,
quality, and other project objectives
Scope Change Control:
Factors Causing IT Project Problems
Scope Change Control: Suggestions for
Improving User Input
 Insist that all projects have a sponsor from the user
organization
 Make all documents available to stakeholders including
project charter, scope statement, and work breakdown
structure
 Have users on the project team. They provide excellent
input all the time. Co-locate users with the developers
for better communication
 Have regular meetings. Many IT project fail due to lack
of meetings
 Deliver something to project users and sponsor on a
regular basis
Scope Change Control: Suggestions for Reducing
Incomplete and Changing Requirements
 Develop and follow a requirements management
process
 Employ techniques such as prototyping, use case
modeling, and Joint Application Design to thoroughly
understand user requirements
 Put all requirements in writing and keep them current
 Create a requirements management database
 Provide adequate testing
 Use a process for reviewing requested changes from a
systems perspective
 Emphasize completion dates